Isma urges Catholics to accept apex court decision

Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia (Isma) has urged the Roman Catholic Church to accept the Federal Court decision barring them from using the word `Allah' in their weekly publication the Herald.

Isma president Abdullah Zaik Rahman said with the ruling, the polemics regarding the ‘Allah’ issue should end.

“I hope the church will abide by the court's decision to ensure harmony in the country.

“Their recalcitrant behaviour (kedegilan) to proceed with the issue would not benefit anyone,” Abdullah Zaik (left) said in a statement quoted on IsmaWeb.

Yesterday, the apex court dismissed the Archbishop's review application over a decision by a seven-member bench who refused them the right to appeal.

This follows the panel headed by Federal Court judge Abdull Hamid Embong, unanimously ruled there was no procedural unfairness.

Abdullah Zaik further warned if the Roman Catholics do not accept the court's decision, it may prolong the animosity between Muslims and Christians.

“We will continue to be in crisis if we do not accept the decision by the country's judiciary institution,” he said.

Besides the Home Ministry and the government, which are respondents in the appeal, six Islamic councils – Selangor, Terengganu, Johor, Malacca, Kedah, Federal Territory, as well as the Malaysian Chinese Muslim Association – stood as interveners to oppose the Archbishop's appeal.

'Court probing Razak’s role in Scorpene deal'

Suaram’s case filed in France against French naval company DCNS in 2011, on kickbacks allegedly paid out in Malaysia’s RM7.3 billion Scorpene submarine deal, is still “alive” according to a former director of the NGO, Cynthia Gabriel.

As the case was filed during her tenure, she still maintains an interest in it.

Gabriel (right) said to the best of her knowledge, the NGO, which filed the case in Paris in 2011, had not abandoned the case.

She said the court was trying to confirm whether political analyst Abdul Razak Baginda, who escaped trial and conviction for the murder of Mongolian national, Altantuya Shaariibuu, had acted in a formal capacity for Malaysia’s Defence Ministry.

Gabriel said so far, Abdul Razak, believed to be living in the United Kingdom now, was featured as a “friend or close ally” of Najib Abdul Razak, who at that time was deputy prime minister.

Najib, who is now Malaysia’s prime minister, was also defence minister during the procurement of the submarines, for which the deals were inked in 2002.

“There is no certainty that Abdul Razak had acted as a public sector officer. Whether he acted in a formal capacity for the Defence Ministry or as a friend of Najib, is now being determined by the court.

“His role was as the main negotiator in the procurement process,” said Gabriel, one of the founders of the Centre to Combat Corruption and Cronyism (C4), an anti-graft watchdog.

She said Suaram had asked several legal bigwigs and professors of law to actually study the case, to determine if Najib’s aides, like Abdul Razak, can be subjected to the The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) convention.

The OECD convention only applies to wrongdoing by public sector officials.

“The Malaysian government should answer and collaborate with the French courts in this matter but so far they have not,” Gabriel claimed.

Alleged kickbacks

Suaram had alleged that DCNS paid 114.9 million Euro (RM452 million) in kickbacks to Perimekar Sdn Bhd -  a company partially owned by Abdul Razak, in the sale of two Scorpene-class submarines to Malaysia.

Both the government and the “architect” of the deal, one Jasbir Singh Chahl, had defended the Scorpene contract award, saying it was made on a transparent basis to “the technically most qualified party on a commercially competitive negotiated price.”

In an interview with Bernama, Jasbir had explained that the contract between the Malaysian government and Perimekar Sdn Bhd was for “defined scope of works”, and provision of such services was within commercial norms.

Bernama had reported that Jasbir said Perimekar was nominated as the local vehicle to spearhead the submarine project, while Terasasi Sdn Bhd (TSB) was incorporated to serve as an external service provider to advise and assist Thales.

Jasbir had also claimed that Altantuya, who was murdered by two former bodyguards of Najib in 2006, was not involved when the deal was negotiated and finally signed in 2002.

However, during the initial court case into her murder, Abdul Razak had revealed that Altantuya (right) was his lover, and had come to Malaysia to “blackmail” him.

Her father, Setev Shaariibuu had always asserted that his daughter acted as a translator for Abdul Razak and was allegedly involved in business deals with him.

Last week, the Federal Court upheld the decision of the High Court, to sentence to death two former police special action unit (UTK) members, former chief inspector Azilah Hadri and corporal Sirul Azhar Umar, for Altantuya’s murder although the motive for killing her has never been established.

Meanwhile, Gabriel pointed out that the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) was reported as applying to use the Mutual Legal Assistance Act (MLA) to get help from the French authorities in its probe into the Malaysia’s purchase of the subs.

Gabriel also revealed that the court had interviewed three French personnel and is planning to indict two of them; one was the financial director of DCNS, a shipyard builder based in Paris.

“He was found to have abused his power and violated the OECD convention, which prohibits commissions and kickbacks to public officials,” Gabriel said.

Gabriel is aware that there have been questions over Suaram’s expenses for the case, dubbed Ops Scorpene, but pointed out the updated accounts for 2013 is on the NGO’s website.

The last fundraising exercise Suaram did was in July 2013, and the balance showed is RM30,598.88.

Home minister 'ambushed' by unhappy employer

Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s visit today to the Immigration Department was marred with an ‘ambush’ by a disgruntled employer.

Based on a video recorded by KiniTV, the 40-year old man confronted Zahid and other immigration officers to raise his apprehension on the new online system for foreign worker registrations.

The man was heard raising his voice and telling the minister on the involvement of ‘middlemen’ and his concerns on the online system. However it was not clear what they were.

“If you want to catch me, go ahead. I am speaking frankly in front of the minister. (Middlemen) tell me that the immigration wants something; the other (party) also wants something

“Please throw away this bureaucracy. We want to get rid of corruption, stop everything,” the man who wore a chequered shirt, was heard saying.

Zahid however remained calm and collected while a crowd gathered and started recording videos and taking photos of the commotion.

He then told the immigration officers beside him to "listen for yourself" to the man’s queries.

One of the immigration officers then explained the new system was to eradicate corruption.

“That is the reason we have implemented the online law,” the officer said in the recording.

Zahid’s deputy minister Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaffar, on Jan 19 was quoted as saying by Bernama that the move was implemented to eliminate the “middlemen” culture and overcrowding at immigration booths by foreign workers.

Meanwhile, in the three minute long video, it was also seen that certain parties were trying to stop the public and cameramen from recording the incident.

Afterwards, Zahid was heard telling the media that the purpose of the visit was for him to see with his own eyes on the effectiveness of the new system.

He also admitted that there have been concerns raised by companies that have been operating via counters all this whileon  having to shift online.

Honesty in court dealings

Do we have such a weak judiciary system which cannot even uphold appointments? The Malaysian government needs to appoint serious people to become magistrates and judges.

Saravanan Forever

I am Saravanan, who is residing overseas. Last year, I filed a civil suit case in a local Malaysian court through my lawyer. 2 months back they called me for a hearing in a short period of time and I could not attend the case due to my health condition. I requested my lawyer to postpone the case so that I can attend the next case. And the magistrate was told that I was to come from overseas.

The hearing was fixed for the end of this month and my lawyer informed me 1.5 months in advance. The system in the West is not the same as in Malaysia. They are very strict and punctual in all dealings. I had to apply for a special permit to leave the country because I am under Social Security. Normally, a patient is not allowed to travel overseas. But I insisted to go because my lawyers are doing all the arrangements and I personally have to respect their efforts. This is simple understanding between human beings.

For Malaysians’ understanding, the Westerners are very particular about their appointments. For example, if they want to have dinner with someone they will make an appointment 1 or 2 weeks in advance and they will write it down in their diary. The same goes for any offices – they will write it down clearly and will not have 2 appointments at the same time. If they promise to meet us, it will definitely happen. There are 2 possibilities if they want to make changes in appointments. First, the person who is going to meet us will appoint his or her colleague otherwise they will change the date to the soonest date possible. So far, living in the West I have never seen hanky panky in legal matters. That is how they keep their country honest and punctual.

It goes the other way around in Malaysia. I was supposed to have a 2 days’ session in the court which will be the hearing too. One week earlier, I received an email from my lawyer saying “We regret to inform you that the trial for this matter which has been fixed on end of January 2015 has been adjourned by the Court to a later date. Therefore, you are not required to attend court on the above stated dates.
The reason given to us for the adjournment is that this matter will be transferred to another Court and will be heard before a new Magistrate”.

This was done after the magistrate understood that I am coming from overseas. The ticket has been bought and preparations for travel has been made. It concerns a person’s effort, money and time. Do we have such a weak judiciary system which cannot even uphold appointments? The Malaysian government needs to appoint serious people to become magistrates and judges.

The Bar Council and the Malaysian judicial body should be accountable for having bad appointments and promises. I am not living in Malaysia currently; who will be responsible for my effort and money wasted? According to my lawyer the magistrate is asking for a next date in March. Do you think it is easy to go back and come back the next month? This trip is already wasted, they are asking me to come again next month. Who is going to be responsible for my trip? There is no simple understanding in this matter.

I have been reading the latest news, for example even in some high profile cases they are changing the public prosecutor and judges according to the government’s will. It is really a shameful matter where there is no honesty in the judicial body which is supposed to hold the country’s pillar of truth. This letter is just my personal opinion, who have some guts to write about the truth. How about other people who have gone through such hassles? All my questions are to be answered by our truthful Malaysians.
I am also seeking the attention of Malaysian Bar Council.

Thank you

Court of Appeal: Islamic laws subject to Federal Constitution

Section 66 of the Negeri Sembilan Syariah Criminal Enactment 1992 ruled unconstitutional, null and void.

FMT

KUALA LUMPUR: The Court of Appeal, in a 46-page written judgment, has declared Section 66 of the Negeri Sembilan Syariah Criminal Enactment 1992, which bars men from cross-dressing as females in public as unconstitutional and void.

Judge Mohd Hishamudin Yunus said the transgenders’ case had merits.

Islam, the religion of the Federation, as defined under Article 3(1) of the Federal Constitution, is subject to the limitations of the fundamental liberties of a person, the Court held. “Article 4(1) of the Federal Constitution declares the constitution as the supreme law and any law running contrary to the constitution shall be considered void.”

Justice Hishamudin cited Che Omar bin Che Soh v Public Prosecutor, a judgment by former lord president Salleh Abbas.

The word Islam in Article 3(1) has a restrictive meaning based on Article 3(4), which states that nothing in this Article derogates from any other provision of the constitution.

“As long as Section 66 is in force, the appellants (the four transgenders or mak nyah’) will continue to live in uncertainty, misery and indignity. They now come before this court in the hope that they may be able to live with dignity and be treated as equal citizens of this nation,” said Justice Hishamudin in the unanimous judgment.

“We therefore hold that Section 66 is inconsistent with Article 5(1) of the Federal Constitution in that the section deprives the appellants of their right to live with dignity.”

Articles 5 to 13 stipulate the rights of citizens of Malaysia, which are listed as Part II of the Federal Constitution.

Article 5(1) states that no person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty, save in accordance with law.

The Court of Appeal ruled on November 7 last year that transgenders have a gender identity disorder. It then declared Section 66 of the Negeri Sembilan Syariah law, which subjects transgenders to frequent arrests, as null and void.

The Negeri Sembilan government has filed an Application for Leave to appeal the decision. It will be heard by the Federal Court on Tuesday.

Sirul’s son speaks up

Facebook postings indicate that the fugitive's family is with him in Australia.

FMT

PETALING JAYA: It appears that fugitive Sirul Azhar Umar’s family is with him in Australia.

This is indicated in Facebook postings by a user who calls himself Shuk Sz and claims to be Sirul’s 19-year-old son.

Sirul, along with fellow policeman Azilah Hadri, was sentenced to death last week for the 2006 murder of Mongolian national Altantuya Shaariibuu. He wasn’t in court for the sentencing, having left for Australia last October.

In one of his postings, Shuk Sz says Sirul was called to record a statement today, but does not say which authority has summoned him. He says if the statement is publicised, Malaysia’s reputation will suffer.

In an earlier posting, he says, “In all honesty, I am a son of Corporal Sirul Azhar Umar. To those who don’t know about his case, don’t just say what you like. Watch your mouth. If I talk to the press, Malaysia will fall. The PM will also fall.”

Replying to a user who insinuates that he is guilty of slander, Shuk Sz says, “I’m in Australia. I can say what I like. I can even curse the PM.”

Custodial deaths: NGOs demand answers

Suaram and Aliran are demanding police take proactive steps to stop the occurrence of further custodial deaths and to charge guilty officers.

FMT

GEORGE TOWN: Two civil rights groups here want the Penang CPO Senior Deputy Commissioner Abdul Rahim Hanafi to take proactive steps to stop the incidence of police custodial deaths, of which Penang had the highest in 2014.

Suaram and Aliran have claimed that of the 14 deaths in custody that took place across the country last year, nine occurred in Penang.

The NGOs said eight were deaths that occurred directly or indirectly in police lockups, while one occurred in Penang Prison.

In a joint statement, the NGOs said, “Each death is a travesty and tragedy for the persons concerned and their families.

“We have been highlighting the all too regular occurrence of custodial deaths for many years but little seems to have changed.

Yesterday Penang recorded its first custodial death of the year when a 63-year-old African under remand for a drug hearing died at the Penang Hospital due to heart complications.

The statement also said his was the second reported in the country this year, with the first being the death of a 31-year-old Indian man at the Ayer Molek police lockup in Johor.

“The police should be protecting the public; no one should be dying in police stations especially not in contentious circumstances, the statement read, adding, “Enough is enough. It is time to put a stop to this.”

Suaram and Aliran now want the Penang CPO to outline clearly the steps being taken to ensure no further custodial deaths in Penang and to investigate why last year’s deaths occurred.

The organisations also called on the CPO to provide full accounting to the families of the victims and to the public, concerning the circumstances surrounding the victims’ deaths and the steps taken to bring justice to the victims by charging the culprits.

“The Penang CPO should file charges against the police officers who are found to have transgressed their duties and were involved in causing the deaths of those under their protection.

“The CPO must do it immediately without fear or favour as a matter of urgent public interest,” said the NGOs.

Zahid asks Australia to hand over fugitive

Police have "put a formal request in, via the (Malaysian) Ministry of Foreign Affairs, for his deportation" back to Malaysia.

FMT

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia said Thursday it had formally asked Australia to hand over a former police commando sentenced to hang for the murder of a Mongolian model in a sensational political scandal linked to corruption allegations.

The fugitive, Sirul Azhar Umar, has been detained by authorities in Australia where he apparently fled recently ahead of a court decision last week in Malaysia that upheld his death sentence.

Australian media have said Sirul will not be sent back as Canberra forbids repatriating suspects who face the death penalty, setting up a potential tug-of-war.

Home Minister Zahid Hamidi told reporters Malaysian police have “put a formal request in, via the (Malaysian) Ministry of Foreign Affairs, for his deportation” back to Malaysia.

Sirul and Azilah Hadri, once members of an elite unit that guards top ministers, were convicted of the 2006 killing of 28-year-old Altantuya Shaariibuu, a Mongolian model and interpreter involved in Malaysia’s controversy-shrouded purchase of French Scorpene submarines more than a decade ago.

Her remains were found in a jungle near Kuala Lumpur after apparently being blown up with military-grade explosives.

Malaysian government critics have long alleged Sirul and Azilah were scapegoats in the murder. Sirul has previously suggested he was taking the fall for higher-ups.

Whistle-blowers allege massive kickbacks to high-level Malaysian officials in the $1.1 billion 2002 purchase, and accusations have simmered for years that Altantuya was murdered to keep her quiet.

The issue has clouded the reputation of Prime Minister Najib Razak, who was defence minister at the time of the deal. He became premier in 2009.

Altantuya was a lover of Abdul Razak Baginda — the man in charge of purchasing the submarines and a close associate of Najib’s.

Najib denies any wrongdoing but Malaysia’s authoritarian regime has steadfastly resisted calls for an investigation into the explosive affair.

Sirul had been able to leave the country because an appeals court in 2013 overturned the pair’s initial 2009 conviction, freeing them. But Malaysia’s highest court last week sided with a subsequent prosecution counter-appeal.

Azilah is in custody.

- AFP

Secret tunnel from Bukit Nanas to Klang River found!

It was never recorded on any map, strengthening evidence that it was a secret route.

FMT

KUALA LUMPUR: Part of a secret tunnel, believed to be centuries old, stretching from Bukit Nanas to the Klang river bank has been unearthed, according to the Star Online.

The 10m tunnel was discovered six months ago by a contractor hired by Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) to rectify a collapsed slope. However, the authorities kept the discovery under wraps until Monday.

DBKL Civil Engineering and Drainage Department director Tan Kheng Chok said DBKL alerted the Malaysian Historical Society about the tunnel. “We believe the tunnel is part of a labyrinth of underground passageways that had been forgotten over time,” he said.

Tan said the narrow tunnel might have been used as an escape route during the Klang Civil War in 1866. “It will be turned into a tourist attraction,” he said.

Tan said the hillslope collapsed in May 2013 but rectification work did not take place until February last year.

An information board erected outside the tunnel, states that the tunnel shares similarities with tunnels found in Kota Raja Mahdi in Klang and Kota Melawati in Kuala Selangor as they are all located on a hill, near a river or under a palace.

It further noted that the digging technique was also very similar to the tunnel in Kota Raja Mahdi.

The Bukit Nanas tunnel is believed to be incomplete as heaps of soil was found.

It was never recorded on any map, strengthening evidence that it was a secret route.

It was learnt that the Mandahiling community populated the hill, originally known as Bukit Gombak, in the mid-19th century. The Godang Palace belonging to Tuanku Raja Asal, or Ja Asai, sat on the hilltop.

Federal Territories Minister Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor expressed his excitement over the findings when he visited the tunnel on Monday. “Bukit Nanas is a historical site as recorded by the Selangor Historical Society,´ said Tengku Adnan. “During the Klang war between Raja Mahadi and Tengku Kudin about 147 years ago, the name Bukit Gombak was changed to Bukit Nanas.”

He recounted the story of how Raja Mahadi had refused to pay taxes to Sultan Abdul Samad.

“Raja Mahadi sought the help of the rich Sutan Naposo and the Mandahiling community headed by Raja Asal. Tengku Kudin, who was Sultan Abdul Samad’s son-in-law, sought the help of Bendahara Pahang, Wan Ahmad. Raja Mahadi’s side set up base in Bukit Gombak and used pineapple plants to fortify their defence. They believed the thorns from the plants would injure the barefoot attackers and ward off charms from the enemy. In the end, Raja Mahadi, Sutan Naposo and Raja Asal lost the battle. The rows of pineapple plants on the hill gave it its identity as Bukit Nanas.”

“Today the Bukit Nanas Forest Reserve still stands tall in the midst of the cosmopolitan city, surrounded by rapid developments,” said Tengku Adnan.

Najib as yet to prove that he is Prime Minister for all Malaysians who is the chief exponent of the politics of inclusion and moderation instead of allowing the rhetoric and politics of exclusion and extremism a free run in the country

By Lim Kit Siang Blog,

In his interview on the “Soal Jawab” programme over TV3 last night, the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak said the government remained committed to maintaining peace and harmony in the country by ensuring that no serious racial disputes broke out and that he would do his best to protect the interests and well-being of all Malaysians.

He stressed that as Prime Minister, he was responsible to the people of Malaysia and that he would do his best to protect the interests and well-being of Malaysians.

While Najib’s assurance is most welcome, it needs to be pointed out that Najib, coming to the end of his sixth year as Prime Minister in less than three months’ time, has yet to prove that he is Prime Minister for all Malaysians, regardless of race, religion or region, and who is the chief exponent of the politics of inclusion and moderation instead of allowing the rhetoric and politics of exclusion and extremism a free run in the country.

No one doubts the eloquence of Najib in promoting the cause of moderation in international circles, with his initiative of the Global Movement of Moderates promoted thrice in the United Nations General Assembly, but unfortunately, Najib has yet to “walk the talk” of his periodical preaching of moderation in international forums in the local scene.

If Najib could put in practice 10% of his espousal and advocacy of the cause of moderation in the country as Prime Minister of Malaysia, he would have been more successful in gaining the trust and confidence of Malaysians.

Instead, Najib has the dubious distinction of being the Prime Minister with the lowest popularity poll.

The 2015 Edelman Trust Barometer survey found that only 45% of Malaysians trusted Putrajaya, down from last year’s 54%.

Najib’s failure to be the chief exponent of the politics of inclusion and moderation could be seen by his refusal to convene a special Parliament meeting for the revised 2015 Budget or even to invite Pakatan Rakyat leaders and MPs to discussions before the finalisation of the revised 2015 Budget.

In fact, not only Barisan Nasional leaders but even Cabinet Ministers were excluded in the process of formulation and finalisation of the revised 2015 Budget, as the Cabinet meeting yesterday was presented with a fait accompli of the revised 2015 Budget announced a day earlier.

Pakatan Rakyat leaders have repeatedly said that we are prepared to co-operate with the Prime Minister and Putrajaya to advance the cause of national reconciliation but the Prime Minister has yet to act on this offer to promote the cause of inclusion and moderation.

In his State of the Union Address yesterday, US President Barack Obama said:

“If you share in the broad vision I outlined tonight, join me in the work at hand.

“If you disagree with parts of it, I hope you’ll at least work with parts of it. I hope you’ll at least work with me where you do agree.

“And I commit to every Republican here tonight that I will not only seek out your ideas, I will seek to work with you to make this country stronger.”

There is now great controversy whether Obama could “walk the talk” of the commitment he made in his State of Union address.

But in Malaysia, Najib has yet to make a commitment to be prepared to work with all Malaysians, regardless of political differences – and the Prime Minister is still keeping the 25 Eminent Malays who penned the Open Letter to the Prime Minister last month cooling their heels waiting for a meeting with the Prime Minister!

Free speech is not absolute

The Star
Reflecting On The Law by SHAD SALEEM FARUQI

Rights per se have no value. It is in the use to which they are put; it is the restraint and responsibility with which they are exercised.

THE massacre by Muslim gunmen of a dozen employees of the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in Paris on Jan 7 was an abomination, an outrage, an atrocity and “an evil deed without a name”. It was a savagely disproportionate act of revenge.

However, it must be recorded that some Muslims had indeed moved the French courts to prohibit the magazine from committing vile acts of blasphemy but had lost in the courts. It is a matter of speculation how things would have worked out if the admirable French (and European Union) apparatus against discrimination, racism and anti-Semitism had been extended equally to give shade to the Muslim minority.

Europe is in the throes of Islamophobia. Geert Wilders, Theo van Gogh and Pim Fortuyn of the Netherlands, Marine Le Pen and French Southern League, Northern League of Italy, Democrats of Sweden, People’s Party of Denmark and Freedom Party of Germany are in the forefront.

How “the heroic Enlightenment-inspired West” must react to this affliction is a matter for Europeans to decide. Outsiders like me can only react with concern to how educated and otherwise wonderful people can delink Islamophobia from racism so that today in Europe it is possible to be both anti-Islam and anti-racist.

For eight years, the irreverent, sadistic, rogue editors and cartoonists of Charlie Hebdo used the delightful art of cartooning not for humouring but for hurting and humiliating. The journalists defiled the sanctum sanctorum of all religions and pursued a warped passion for blasphemy despite being told that they were offensive to the faithful and risked danger to their innocent workers.

As we pray for the souls of those murdered, I hope that this tragedy will lead to fundamental rethinking on a number of issues:

Western values: It is argued by some that Charlie Hebdo represented free speech and, by extension, the value system of the West. To hold up the magazine as the standard bearer of Western civilisation is to sully the West. Charlie Hebdo was a bigoted, incendiary and racist publication. It specialised in Muslim baiting. It banalised Arabs and Islam. Surely these are not “Western values”.

An absolute right: Many Westerners assert that freedom of speech is an absolute, non-negotiable right. This view is not supportable morally or intellectually. Rights per se have no value. It is what rights are for; it is the use to which they are put; it is the restraint and responsibility with which they are exercised that is important.

The assertion that speech is an absolute right is a legal lie. No nation adopts an “all or nothing” attitude. Everywhere, freedom of speech co-exists with laws against defamation, contempt of court, privacy, confidentiality, public order, national security and terrorism. Nowhere does one have the right to shout “fire” in a crowded cinema hall.

A Council of Europe Convention outlaws “public provocation to terrorism”. Edward Snowden tells us that state surveillance of information is widespread in the West.

Public order laws are used regularly in the United Kingdom and Germany to criminalise pro-Nazi ideas and any analysis that departs from the officially sanctioned version of the holocaust. In February 2006, Austria jailed British historian David Irving for three years for denying the holocaust. Across Europe there is legislation against hate speech, racism, anti-Semitism and against defamation of whole groups.

The existentialist reality is that in the West, overt and covert censorship is widespread. Only that it is more refined, non-governmental and decentralised.

For example, Israel’s barbarous treatment of the Palestinians is censored out of the public domain. Any journalist, professor, activist, public official or clergy who dares to speak critically of Israel or report accurately the brutalities of its illegal occupation is made to pay a heavy price.

Spiritual aspect: Human beings are not merely physical creatures. There are also the spiritual, emotional and psychological facets of our personality. Just as we have no right to violate the physical person of another, we should have no right to injure the spiritual, emotional side of another’s personality.

No advocate of free speech should have the right to denigrate our religion, our prophets, our mother, father and other objects of our devotion to such an extent that our mind, heart and soul find it difficult to bear the hurt and humiliation.

If the free speech advocate pushes us beyond the precipice, he should expect some reaction. His Holiness the Pope said it plainly in Manila: “You cannot provoke, you cannot insult other people’s faith, you cannot mock it.”

Concept of the sacred: What is missing in Western commentary on this Paris tragedy is lack of understanding of “the sacred”. Even in this day and age many people feel reverence towards their religion. Those who have lost this sense of the sacred have no right to humiliate and caricature those who still have it.

False attribution: There is a general tendency in the Western media that whenever wrongs are committed by Muslims, their religion is immediately given the blame. But a similar attribution is not made, and rightly so, when atrocities are committed, of a hundred-fold magnitude, by Christian leaders of the North Atlantic nations.

Selective condemnation: While we mourn the innocent who were brutally murdered in Paris, we should also express indignation at genocide and war crimes elsewhere. Day in and day out, innocent families are being butchered in Gaza. A 65-year-old genocide is in place in occupied Palestine. United States and Israeli drones knock out homes and mosques and extinguish lives regularly, mercilessly and in total defiance of law.

Compared to the Paris massacre (17 dead), several million have been killed in US-EU initiated and financed military expeditions in Afghanistan, Iraq, Palestine, Libya and Syria. No bells toll for them.

While condemning the perfidy at the Charlie Hebdo office in Paris, we should be consistent in our commemorations and condemnations. As Martin Luther King once said: “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”

> Shad Saleem Faruqi is Emeritus Professor of Law at UiTM. The views expressed here are entirely the writer’s own.

Malaysia Confident Of Being Able To Breeze Through Strong Headwinds - Najib

From Nor Baizura Basri

DAVOS (Switzerland), Jan 22 (Bernama) -- Malaysia is confident of being able to breeze through the strong global headwinds following the country's strong economic fundamentals, says Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

Najib raised his concerns on the current falling global oil prices and believed the pre-emptive measures announced recently were a reality check.

"Of course, we are concerned with the headwinds but we believe in strong fundamentals.

"The market will make its correction and in due course, we will overcome strong headwinds and we will be back on track," he said in a keynote address at a business luncheon on the sidelines of the 45th World Economic Forum held here.

Najib, who is also the finance minister, said apart from these measures, having a diversified economy as well as continuing to be more competitive, did help in going through these economic turbulences.

For the past five years, Malaysia has a "good run" in terms of economic performance including hitting an all-time high in stock market as well as raking in the highest foreign direct investments in history in 2013, Najib said.

"In short, Malaysia is still a good story to tell and I hope you are equally convince about it.

"So, welcome to Malaysia and I am hoping you (investors) will be our partners and believe in Malaysia's story," he said.

Apart from that, Malaysia's location at the heart of Asia offered tremendous growth potential for the world as well as its other nine-member of Asean grouping, he said.

"Asean will be a major force to be considered and within Asean at the heart of Asean, lies Malaysia," he said.

Najib said by declaring Asean as an economic community this year, it meant there would be more movements towards reducing most of the tariffs, working towards a single market and a single production base.

"Asean is home to more than 620 million people and will have a combined gross domestic product of US$4 trillion by 2020," he said.

The business luncheon was hosted by Khazanah Nasional Bhd, Malaysian Investment Development Authority and InvestKL.

About 55 top global industry honchos as well as 39 local industry captains attended the event including Royal Vopak, Barclays, Huawei, LaFarge, Novartis and many more.

Local captains of industry include Permodalan Nasional Bhd President and Chief Executive Officer Tan Sri Hamad Kama Piah Che Othman, Axiata President and Group Chief Executive Officer Datuk Seri Jamaludin Ibrahim and UEM Group Chairman Tan Sri Dr Ahmad Tajuddin Ali.

Father Lawrence hopes for country to 'open up'

Report: Islamic State May Soon Have A Bigger Army Than Britain As Government Considers Cutting Number Of Soldiers To Just 60,000…

There are already more British Muslims fighting for the Islamic State than the British army.

Via Telegraph:

A Whitehall row has erupted after a former defence minister said officials were secretly looking at dramatically cutting the British Army to as few as 60,000 soldiers.

Sir Nick Harvey said the radical reduction was being examined by the Ministry of Defence because the department faces an impending “financial crunch” after the election.

The Liberal Democrat MP, who was Armed Forces minister until 2012, said possible cuts were being tested because the defence budget was likely to be badly hit again by austerity cuts made by any new parliament.

Under the Government’s current Army reforms, the number of regular soldiers is already being cut from 102,000 to 82,000, while the number of reservists is growing to 30,000.

Ex-MI6 Boss Warns West Not To Insult Islam

Those who insult Islam should expect to be attacked, suggests ex-MI6 boss as he agrees with the Pope's Charlie Hebdo comments.

By Alistair Bunkall, Defence Correspondent


The former chief of MI6 has warned that anyone insulting Islam can expect to provoke a reaction and that "there will be another terrorist attack in this country."

Sir John Sawers was delivering his first speech since leaving office. He stepped down as 'C' in November 2014 after five years at the helm of the Secret Intelligence Service.

Sir John picked up on comments made by the Pope in reference to the provocative cartoons published in the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, where 12 were killed in a terror attack. Al Qaeda said the attacks were revenge for the depiction of Mohammed.

Pope Francis told crowds in The Philippines that a friend who had cursed his mother could "expect a punch" in return.

Sir John said: "There is a requirement for restraint from those of us in the West.

"I rather agree with the Pope that, of course, the attacks in Paris were completely unacceptable and cannot be justified on any basis whatsoever, but I think respect for other people's religion is also an important part of this.

"If you show disrespect for others' core values then you are going to provoke an angry response. That doesn't justify anything, but I think we just need to bear it in mind."

Sir John praised the work of the intelligence and security agencies but reiterated the threat to the UK from terrorists: "If I was to sit here and say will the goalkeepers of the security services and the police keep every single attempt to get the ball into the net, out? No. At some point these threats will get through and there will be another terrorist attack in this country."

Sir John said there cannot be any "no-go areas" either in the physical or virtual world and said there cannot be a trade-off between security and privacy.

"If the technology companies allow to be developed, areas that are simply impenetrable, you're inviting problems," he warned.

Archbishop worries Herald decision leads to curbs on minority rights

The Catholic church is concerned that yesterday's Federal Court decision on the Allah issue could open a Pandora's box in curbing the rights of minorities to manage their religious affairs.

Newly ordained Archbishop of Kuala Lumpur, Most Reverend Julian Leow said while he was disappointed with the ruling of the Federal Court, the decision was not totally unexpected.

"I would like to believe this adverse decision is confined only to the Herald and will not open a Pandora's box on curbing the rights of minorities in managing our own religious affairs.
‎
"In God we continue to pray and trust that there is light at the end of this tunnel," he told The Malaysian Insider in a text message.

A five-man panel headed by Tan Sri Abdull Hamid Embong delivered a unanimous decision yesterday to deny the Catholic church's application for a review of the apex court's earlier ruling which did not grant it leave to appeal the ban on the use of the word "Allah" in Catholic weekly, Herald.

Church lawyer Datuk Dr Cyrus Das, however, had said that the Allah case was not quite over.

Instead, he was hopeful the issues central to the case, on freedom of religion, could be revisited through other similar cases in the future.

Das said yesterday that ‎the merits of the church's case over the Allah issue needed to be raised in other cases, especially on the home minister's power to ban words.

"There are other constitutional issues that have not been addressed and this can be taken up in other cases, " Das had said.

Herald editor, Rev Father Lawrence Andrew (pic, right), acknowledging that the door is closed for this particular case, expressed hope that there would be an opening later to ventilate the issues relating to freedom to practise's one faith as well as minority rights.

‎"This was an important constitutional case on the right to profess one's faith and to live in peace in harmony.

"Now we hope to be able to work towards being able to live in peace and harmony and at the same time we pray that that the rights of the minorities will not be trampled upon.

"‎We also pray and hope there will be an opening later," he added.

Today, ‎a similar case involving Sarawakian Christian, Jill Ireland, who had her eight CDs containing the word "Allah" confiscated by the home ministry, will be heard at the Kuala Lumpur High Court.

The government is applying for a stay of a High Court order in July which ordered for the CDs to be returned to her.

In 2008, ministry officials confiscated the CDs from Ireland at the then Low-Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT) in Sepang, prompting the Melanau Christian to challenge the seizure in court.

The CDs, which Ireland had bought in Indonesia for personal use, bore titles such as "Cara Hidup Dalam Kerajaan Allah", "Hidup Benar Dalam Kerajaan Allah" and "Ibadah Yang Benar Dalam Kerajaan Allah".

She also asked the court for a declaration that she had a legitimate expectation to exercise the right to use "Allah" and to continue to own and import such materials.

Ireland's legal team had argued that the case was not about Christianity against Islam, but about her constitutional right as a Bumiputera Christian.

In her ruling, however, High Court judge Datuk Zaleha Yusof who had ordered the confiscated CDs to be returned, did not address Ireland's constitutional right to use the word "Allah".

As such, Ireland is also appealing against the High Court decision which failed to address the issue, to be heard at the Court of Appeal next month. – January 22, 2015.

- See more at: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/archbishop-worries-herald-decision-leads-to-curbing-of-minority-rights-to-m#sthash.hJ69h6cP.dpuf

Investigator reveals AirAsia jet’s alarms ‘screaming’ before crash:

Warning alarms in AirAsia flight QZ8501 were "screaming" as the pilots desperately tried to stabilise the plane just before it plunged into the Java Sea last month, a crash investigator said today.

The noise of several alarms – including one that indicated the plane was stalling – can be heard going off in recordings from the black box in the Airbus A320's cockpit, the investigator told AFP, requesting anonymity.

"The warning alarms, we can say, were screaming, while in the background they (the pilot and co-pilot) were busy trying to recover," the investigator said, adding the warnings were going off "for some time".

The investigator, from Indonesia's National Transportation Safety Committee (NTSC), added that the pilots' voices were drowned out by the sound of the alarms.

The revelation came a day after Indonesian Transport Minister Ignasius Jonan said that the plane had climbed abnormally fast before stalling and plunging into the sea, during a flight on December 28 in stormy weather from Indonesia's Surabaya to Singapore.

"In the final minutes, the plane climbed at a speed which was beyond normal," the minister told reporters.

The plane crashed in shallow waters with 162 people on board, but so far just 53 bodies have been recovered.

Divers have been struggling for a week against rough seas and strong currents to reach the plane's main fuselage, which was spotted on the seabed and is thought to contain the bulk of the remaining passengers and crew.

The two black boxes – the cockpit voice recorder and the flight data recorder – were recovered last week after a lengthy search, and investigators are expected to complete a preliminary report next week.

As well as the cockpit voice recorder, the NTSC is examining a wealth of information in the flight data recorder, which monitors every major part of the plane.

They are focusing on the possibility of human or aircraft error, after ruling out terrorism following an analysis of the cockpit voice recorder.

Committee head Tatang Kurniadi said that the preliminary report into the crash would be completed on Tuesday, a month after the accident. He said the full report would not be released publicly but the media would be told some of its contents.

There was a huge international hunt for the crashed plane, involving ships from several countries including the United States and China.

All but seven of those on board the flight were Indonesian. The foreign nationals were from South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, Britain and France. – AFP, January 21, 2015.

- See more at: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/investigator-reveals-airasia-jets-alarms-screaming-before-crash#sthash.5TXdC0y8.dpuf

Looks and sounds like me, but not me, says Ibrahim Ali over racist video

Perkasa chief Datuk Ibrahim Ali disagreed that he had uttered racist remarks against the Indian and Chinese communities after a video showing him making a racist speech was played in court.

“It looks like me, it sounds like me... but the movement of the mouth isn’t consistent with what the image was saying... so it might not be me.

“I disagree that it’s me,” Ibrahim told the Shah Alam High Court today.

He was testifying during cross-examination in his defamation suit against theSun, its former managing editor Chong Cheng Hai and deputy editor, special reports and investigations Terence Fernandez.

Ibrahim is suing the paper and its then senior editors for an article written by Fernandez on the Sultan of Selangor’s refusal to launch Perkasa’s first general assembly.

Ibrahim claims that the article, which was published on March 17, 2010, was the first to label him a racist and chauvinist.

Earlier, Ibrahim told the court that the article had caused him to lose the opportunity to stand as a Barisan Nasional candidate in the 13th general election.

During the cross examination, the defence presented a number of articles in various publications that showed Ibrahim’s strong leanings towards promoting Malay rights and Islam.

One article published by Mingguan mStar dated March 28, 2010 touched on an allegedly defamatory article titled: “Perkasa President Cannot Be Prime Minister”.

In reference to the article, Ibrahim alleged that the writer Nurul Ain Mohd Hussain had got her facts wrong regarding his audience with the Sultan of Selangor, but he did not pursue the mistake as he “did not have enough time”.

“So many reporters call me for interviews... I can’t recall everything. Sometimes during exclusives you speak a lot, you say a lot of things but when it’s published, the reporters will shorten the sentences, they might take it out of context or spin it.

“When the reporter brought up that question, it was like the reporter put words into my mouth. I was answering her question but it ended up looking as if the Sultan brought up the topic (concerning the alleged chauvinism shown by him and Perkasa) and I discussed the issue with the Sultan,” said Ibrahim.

He claimed that many publications and articles featuring him had “got it wrong” and were not entirely accurate. However, he decided to brush aside the other reports due to time constraints and because the errors were “not serious enough”.

He is demanding an apology as well as exemplary and general damages from the defendants.

Ibrahim is represented by Harmy Yusoff, while Datuk Nitin Nadkarni, Himahlini Ramalingam and G.Meerasree are appearing for the defendants.

Hearing continues on Thursday. – The Edge Financial Daily, January 21, 2015.

- See more at: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/looks-and-sounds-like-me-but-not-me-says-ibrahim-ali-over-racist-video#sthash.KQOQixGQ.dpuf

Lawyer awaits AG’s action on extradition

 

Lawyers representing Sirul Azhar Umar will wait for the Attorney-General’s Chambers to see whether it will ask for the convicted murderer to be extradicted from Australia.

Sirul’s lawyer, Kamarul Hisham Kamaruddin, when contacted by Malaysiakini, said he was not certain about the nature of Sirul’s arrest by the Australian authorities.

"Is it for an immigration offence or because of the Interpol red notice?

"We will wait and see what the AG's move will be - whether to extradite him. Then we will decide the next course of action," Kamarul said.

It was reported earlier today that Sirul (right) was picked up by the Australian immigration authorities in Brisbane last night.

Kamarul had previously said that if he receives instruction from his client and if the AG files an application to extradite Sirul, he would challenge the order in Malaysia.

The lawyer had also said that his client's conviction had opened a can of worms as the motive was never established and the public had been questioning it.

This is based on the premise that Australia abolished the death penalty in 1967 and has since barred the extradition of prisoners on death row.

Besides this, Sirul could also appoint lawyers in Australia to file review application to challenge the Australian Attorney ­General's application to extradite him if it is filed and also the magistrate's order should the extradition request is granted.

Last Tuesday, the Federal Court found Sirul, 43, a former Special Action Unit corporal, along with first accused chief inspector Azilah Hadri, guilty of murdering Mongolian Altantuya Shaariibuu.

Sirul maintained that he had been made “the scapegoat to protect their plans".

Besides Azilah and Sirul, political analyst Abdul Razak Baginda, a close confidante of Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak was also charged with abetting to murder.

Abdul Razak Baginda, however, was acquitted and his defence was not called by the Shah Alam High Court.

Next: Court process on Sirul's extradition

 

Following his arrest in Australia, former police commando Sirul Azhar Umar will have to undergo a court process before a decision is made on his possible extradition to Malaysia.

Queen's Counsel Mark Trowell said Australian law dictates that Malaysia must make a formal application for an arrest warrant.

The warrant, Trowell (left) added, would be issued only if the magistrate in Australia is satisfied that the person is extraditable.

"If the person is determined to be eligible for surrender then it falls upon the AG to decide whether the person should actually be surrendered.

“That's when the issue of death penalty becomes relevant," he added.

The extradition treaty between Malaysia and Australia is not valid in Sirul's case as Australia does not recognise the death penalty.

Sirul and another form police Special Operations Force officer Azilah Hadri were last week sentenced to death for the murder of Mongolian national Altantuya Shaariibuu.

While Sirul was absent, Azilah, the first accused, was present in court.

The Malaysian government had earlier said it would consider filing an application in Australia for Sirul to be extradited.

His lawyers have vowed to challenge this.

Inspector-General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar (right) told Malaysiakini today that he would consult Attorney-General Abdul Gani Patail before deciding on the next step.

Previously, Trowell had said that Australia would extradite Sirul if Malaysia reconsiders the sentence against the 43-year-old and changes it to life imprisonment.

"Unless Malaysia undertakes not to execute him, we will not send him back. For example, if it undertakes that he will face life imprisonment only," Trowell noted.

Sirul was arrested in Brisbane last night by immigration officers and an email sent by the Immigration Department to Malaysiakini described Sirul as an "unlawful non-citizen".

It remains unclear whether Sirul had entered Australia legally or if he had overstayed an initial visa, prompting action by the country’s immigration officers following the Interpol red notice posted yesterday.

Angry at ROS, MIC sec-gen set for hunger strike

Newly appointed MIC secretary-general G. Kumar Aaman will hold a hunger strike at the Registrar of Societies (ROS) headquarters, 2pm tomorrow at Putrajaya, in order to ‘save’ the party.

The MIC is in midst of turmoil over its office bearers. It has been ordered to hold a re-election by the ROS, which has refused to recognise officials newly appointed by its president, G Palanivel, including Kumar.

The Tamil media reported yesterday that ROS had rejected Kumar’s request to meet with the registrar.

"ROS is not in the position to recognise any new appointment until the current dispute regarding the positions of the central working committee (CWC) members is resolved," ROS had said in the letter.

In a text message to Malaysiakini today, he said that the hunger strike will go on until “they (ROS) change the investigation team, the director-general and when all relevant officers are transferred out”.

However Kumar’s position as secretary-general has been challenged by many party members.

He added that there is a need to also save the RM300 million government fund given to the private university AIMST, brainchild of Samy, as he said it “belongs to the Indian community”.

Kumar had also lashed out at ROS for their investigation into MIC election practices, yet was raided by the MACC on suspicion that a ROS officer was "on the take" in the MIC crisis. But the probe was bogged down by the failure of the ROS CCTV system.

"They can't take care of their CCTV system... then how can they talk about how we conduct our elections?" he had told Malaysiakini  recently.

Waiting for court, Karpal's nephew sells burgers

Dalbinder Singh Gill, the nephew of the late Karpal Singh, will most likely be charged under the Sedition Act in February, but he will not be sitting at home worrying about the matter.

The 24-year old law student is now selling home made burgers at his friend Abu Hassan’s stall in Gurney Drive, in the evenings, apart from helping his dad run a hotel on the island.

The burger stall, where you can find him flipping grilled chicken is named “Street Grill”, which reflects his aspirations to be with the people, to seek for change, he said.

“At the rate the country is going with the sedition arrests, one day selling burgers may also be seditious,” he laughed, when Malaysiakini met him along Gurney Drive last night.

Dalbinder is one of the 20 odd individuals - including academicians, activists, opposition politicians, journalist and preachers who were hauled under the Sedition Act last year.

He said the Attorney-General's chambers informed him of the possible charges when he contacted them to request for the return of his iPhone5 and iPad mini.

“These were seized when I was told to show up at the police station on the night of Sept 30. I won’t be getting them back as they will be tendered as evidence in court,” he said.

Dalbinder was arrested and quizzed for several hours at the Northeast District Police Headquarters along Jalan Patani for his Facebook posts questioning bumiputera rights and the institution of the monarchy.

Northeast District police chief ACP Mior Faridalatrah said Dalbinder was arrested by the Cyber Crime Department in Kuala Lumpur, under Section 4(1) (C) of the Sedition Act, for publishing or reproducing seditious publications.

If convicted, he faces a fine of not more than RM5,000, or up to three years' jail or both.

While he is ready to face the music, Dalbinder is somewhat concerned that the matter may interfere with his 2nd year LLB exam in May, which recently cost him RM4,500.

He is disappointed that the government continues to oppress its citizens with the Act, which Prime Minister Najib Razak had planned to abolish in 2012.

However, Najib u-turned on his promise to repeal the Act, and instead declared last year at his Umno AGM that the government would “strengthen and fortify” the law.

“In school we were told to speak out, to be critical but when we leave school, things are so different. There is no freedom of speech,” he lamented.

“One of the best thing about being young is the desire to express ourselves, to be vibrant and energetic in sharing our views, but in this country, it cannot happen,” he added.

Asked if he experienced sleepless nights pending his possible charge in February, Dalbinder said “I have no problems sleeping as my conscience is clear”.

“Next month, I do not know where I would be sleeping but it is okay. The struggle to free Malaysia must go on”.

‘We are like brothers’

During the interview with Malaysiakini, two of Dalbinder’s friends, whom he met when participating in the activities of the Youth Parliament, dropped by to visit him.

Ahmad Fazley, 22, who works as a caterer and lives in Bukit Gelugor, says he is saddened that the police plans to proceed with the charge against him.

“Dalbinder studied in London, and the society there is very open, including acceptance of inter-faith marriages,” he said.

“Students like Dalbinder should be given the chance to explain himself and be given a warning first for his actions, not to repeat his mistake, if any, before any drastic action like arrest, be taken against him,” he added.

Sylvester Yau, 24, who runs a printing business in Sungai Pinang, said he has befriended Dalbinder only recently but they have grown fond of each other, “like brothers”.

“During our free time, we will go around Penang on my Honda Wave and we will discuss ways to improve the island and the state,” Yau said.

“Our friendship is beyond race or religion and politics. We help each other and look out for one another,” he added.

“I feel sad that he has to be hauled up for sedition charges just for his Facebook postings. Dalbinder should be given a chance as he is still young.”

300 from China have used M’sia as transit point to join IS

Kuala Lumpur and Beijing view security threat seriously and are committed to curbing menace, says Home Minister.

FMT

PUTRAJAYA: More than 300 Chinese nationals have used Malaysia as a transit point on their way to join the Islamic State (IS) militant group in Syria and Iraq, Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi revealed today.

They had moved on to a third country from Malaysia before entering Syria and Iraq, he said, adding that this was disclosed to him by China’s vice-minister of Public Security Meng Hongwei at a meeting at his office here today.

Ahmad Zahid said Kuala Lumpur and Beijing viewed seriously this security threat and were committed to curbing it in a more comprehensive manner.

“Although there exists an arrangement between Malaysia and China to combat terrorism through counter-terrorism measures, this problem is serious.

“This is because ties exist at the international level between terrorists in China and those in other countries in the South-East Asian region,” he told reporters after Meng had called on him.

– BERNAMA

Cancel NS altogether, says DAP

Party vice-president Kula Segaran suggests that money be spent on more progressive programmes.

FMT

GEORGE TOWN: DAP today urged the government to abolish the National Service (NS) programme and channel the money saved towards more progressive programmes.

M Kula Segaran, a vice-president of the party, said it would be cheaper and more productive for Putrajaya to “expand and enhance” the Students Integration Programme for Unity (RIMUP) that was launched in 1986 with the objective of building unity among students of different races.

He noted that since the NS programme was launched in 2004, the government had spent billions of ringgit to run it.

In May 2008, Deputy Defence Minister Abu Seman Yusop told Parliament that the government had spent RM608.6 million in 2004, RM604.8 million in 2005, RM588.2 million in 2006 and RM565 million in 2007 to run the NS programme.

Kula also noted that 22 participants had died in NS camps and that a former NS trainer was detained recently on suspicion of planning a new route to the Middle East for recruits to join the Islamic State militant group.

“Malaysians remain unconvinced by claims that the programme is worthwhile,” he said. “I therefore call on the government to cancel the NS programme altogether, rather than just suspending it for a year.”

The programme was mooted by former prime minister Mahathir Mohamed just before he retired in 2003. Kula said Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak should not be deterred by Mahathir’s current animosity towards him from “doing what is necessary”.

Najib yesterday announced that the NS programme would be suspended for a year as part of cost-cutting measures to face tough economic challenges. The suspension is estimated to save the federal government about RM400 million.

Defence Minister Hishammuddin Hussein disclosed that NS camp operators and trainers would receive their pay despite the the suspension.

Kula demanded disclosure of how much the operators would be paid and an explanation of why they would be paid.

He also asked why only RM400 million would be saved. If the 2015 budget for NS was RM600 million, he said, this meant that some RM200 million would still be spent.

Will Altantuya’s Murderer Talk in Australia?

Malaysian cop’s detention poses dilemma for political figures in Kuala Lumpur

By John Berthelsen - Asia Sentinel

The detention in Brisbane, Australia, of Sirul Azhar Umar, one of the two condemned killers of Mongolian beauty Altantuya Shaariibuu, must be sending shock waves through Kuala Lumpur and the unknown parties who ordered her execution in October of 2006.

“This is going to be dynamite,” said a prominent Malaysian lawyer who preferred not to be identified. “There is lots of vibration going on in foot apparel,” a suggestion that top political figures in Kuala Lumpur might be shaking in their boots. Reporters and lawyers are feverishly trying to get Sirul to talk from his jail cell about who ordered the killing and why.

Once a member of an elite bodyguard unit attached to the office of then-Defense Minister Najib Tun Razak, Sirul was detained in Queensland after Interpol issued a request for his arrest. He apparently fled to Australia last October, according to immigration records. He is now well outside the jurisdiction or protection of Malaysian figures who could conceivably offer him security in return for keeping quiet.

Since the time Sirul and his co-defendant, former police chief inspector Azilah Hadri, were arrested in 2006, every effort has been made in three courts to make sure no names would be mentioned in the context of who ordered the killing of the then-28-year-old Altantuya, a jet-setting party girl and translator who had been the girlfriend of a close associate of now-Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak. According to a sworn statement by a private detective who has since died she had also once been the girlfriend of Najib himself.

As a translator, Altantuya was peripherally connected to the late stages of a scandal-plagued transaction involving the US$1 billion purchase of French submarines by the Malaysian Ministry of Defense, which Najib headed. The transaction involved bribes and kickbacks amounting to US$150 million or more that French investigators said were routed to the United Malays National Organization political party.

The two ex-cops were sentenced to death by the Federal Court in Malaysia on Jan. 12, reversing a 2013 appellate court order freeing them on a technicality. They were originally convicted in the trial court in 2009 of killing Altantuya, who left a note after her death saying she was “blackmailing” her jilted lover, Abdul Razak Baginda, for US$500,000.

Razak Baginda was also implicated in the crime but was let off by the court without having to present a defense.

Sirul confessed to the crime a few weeks after he was arrested. In that sworn confession, he said Azilah had come to him while he was on duty and said they had a job to do. Later, according to testimony, it transpired that the job had been suggested to the two men by Najib’s aide-de-camp, Musa Safri.

Beyond his acknowledgement that Musa had asked the two to take care of Altantuya, Sirul’s confession says that nobody ever asked him for any further details on Musa’s request, whether the request actually included an order to murder her or whether someone senior to Musa had passed the word down. Musa never testified and as far as court records can reveal was never asked about the affair.

The government-controlled mainstream media has never asked the obvious questions, nor have they quoted critics who asked them. Only the country’s energetic bloggers have kept the case alive. The appellate court ruling freeing the two in 2013 stated that it was not necessary to look for a motive for the killing.

“If Sirul is real smart, he should tape-record all that he knows and also give a full written report, seal it up nicely and leave it with his lawyers in Australia or in a safe place elsewhere, with instructions for his lawyers to open it in public at a press/TV interview for the whole world audience to hear who ordered the killing,” said a Malaysian acquaintance. “Indeed, he should make sure he or they sink with him.”

Sirul, sitting in a Brisbane jail, has to be considering his rather bleak options. Neither he nor Azilah has ever revealed the name of the party or parties who he said in his taped confession had offered to pay the two RM50,000 to RM100,000 to kill the woman. In court when he was originally pronounced guilty, he broke into tears and said he was being made a scapegoat. He never revealed who made him a scapegoat.

In the meantime, Sirul’s arrest poses an issue for both Australia and Malaysia. The government of Prime Minister Tony Abbott is opposed to the extradition of any condemned individual to a country where the death penalty is practiced, and indeed the country’s formal extradition policy says there will be no extradition unless such a government gives an undertaking that the death penalty will not be carried out. The Abbott government has been trying to stop the looming executions in Indonesia of two Australian drug couriers arrested in Bali.

At the same time, however, Sirul is hardly a political dissident fleeing a vindictive government. According to all the evidence and his own confession – which was never produced in court despite its seeming validity and legality – he was an executioner-for-hire who put two bullets into the woman’s head after Azilah had knocked her unconscious as she begged for her life and that of her unborn baby

If Malaysia agrees to take Sirul back without executing him that poses a further dilemma: what to do with his fellow murderer, Azilah, who has also been sentenced to hang and is in custody in Malaysia? Hanging one without the other would be tricky unless the government commutes the sentences for both.

Calling Taib’s bluff

What now, Abdul Taib Mahmud? Neither your vast billions, nor the legal letters from one of London’s more prominent lawyers, were able to stop Swiss NGO Bruno Manser Fund’s executive director, Lukas Straumann, from exposing your terrible legacy.

Taib’s threats and intimidation were unsuccessful, and the book launch of ‘Money Logging: On the Trail of the Asian Timber Mafia’ by Straumann went ahead as scheduled on Friday, Jan 17, in London.

The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) was not deterred by Taib’s bully boy tactics, when his lawyers tried to stop the broadcast of the interview with Straumann. To make things worse, Amazon has started stocking the book, despite earlier intimidation by Taib’s lawyers who threatened to sue Amazon, for selling what they had termed a “defamatory book”.

At the launch, the main speaker, Straumann, summarised the role of the major players in the deforestation of Sarawak and gave an insight into Taib’s money logging activities, the politics involved, Taib’s family, Swiss activist Bruno Manser, how governments and multinational banks surreptitiously aid Taib, and more importantly, how he (Straumann) became involved.

Clare Rewcastle Brown (left), the founder of Sarawak Report, said former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad had criticised Taib and stressed that he should not “get away” with timber corruption.

The only Malaysian panel member, lawyer See Chee How, claimed that he had won all of his land rights cases on behalf of the indigenous people. Sarawak land laws are based on UK land laws, but he stressed that “winning is one thing, the enforcement of the law is another”.

Jetty Word, the director of the Borneo Project, talked about the dams which Taib was building and how these had wrecked people’s lives, for instance, from the ill-effects of polluted water.

Although Rewcastle Brown noted that Mahathir was displeased with Taib, we must question the role of Putrajaya and Taib. One cannot exist without the other. The two are like a growing foetus, linked by an umbilical cord to its mother.

'No BN without Taib'

Most of Sarawak’s petroleum revenue goes to Putrajaya and in return, Taib is allowed to plunder his own nation using timber revenue.

Taib treats Sarawak as his personal fiefdom and Putrajaya is complicit. Putrajaya depends on Taib to deliver BN to Parliament. Without Taib, BN would have long ceased to rule Malaysia, perhaps even ceased to exist.

The current redelineation exercise in Sarawak will create more seats for Sarawak. Mahathir may criticise other PMs for supporting Taib, but what did he do during his 22 years in power. He had the chance to intervene, but he did not.

What about the people? Taib knows that money talks. There are allegations of him bribing his way into power, paying the tuai rumah (village chief) to vote BN, and paying party members to vote for him.

He uses money to ‘compensate’ the tribal people for the loss of their ancestral lands and replacing virgin forest with oil palm. Everything he does is for his own profit. Very little is given back to the people. Taib makes billions from all his ventures, but the people are given only a few thousand ringgits in compensation.

Taib has homes all over the world, but the villagers who are displaced find themselves in shanty towns, far away from their ancestral lands. Deprived of their normal hunting grounds, they can neither cultivate crops, nor hunt. People become ill from having to live with polluted water.

Taib is aware of the historical and sociological background of Sarawak. He practised 1Malaysia long before Najib (right) thought of the idea. Taib capitalises on the harmony of the multi-ethnic races, and he keeps Umno Baru out of Sarawak because he knows that this is his only usefulness to Sarawakians.

The political parties in Sarawak are like the swaying palm trees - one day they are with you, the next day, they are not. Money is useful and Taib knows how to exploit the indecision of the tribal leaders. It is also alleged that Taib grants favours to his cronies and they, in turn, make sure he is kept happy.

Silent Sarawakian majority

Taib sends his children abroad to study, but the folk in the interior do not have that luxury. Children may have to walk or travel by boat for several hours to reach school. The rivers are not just their source of livelihood, but also a means of transport.

That is why children are vulnerable when they hitch rides in timber lorries to go to school.

Look at the manner in which the general populace of Sarawak dealt with the rapes of the Penan girls. What happened to the voices of disgust? Where were the protests in the major towns and cities? The citizens of India voiced their anger when their women were raped and were denied justice.

When some Sarawak leaders claimed that the Penan were good storytellers, the majority of Sarawakians kept quiet.

Taib’s lawyers said that Straumann’s book was “based on an entirely false and highly damaging premise”. When asked to explain how Taib got his wealth, the lawyers gave no information.

Did the London lawyers really believe that Taib had amassed his wealth like another Malaysian celebrity who started saving from her teenage years, to buy diamond rings and handbags? Did the lawyers fall for the story that Taib’s children are intelligent and business savvy, and were able to turn RM1 into a few billion ringgits?

Today, Malaysia’s reputation is at stake. The success of the illegal logging in Sarawak has meant that the Taib timber model is being exported to countries with weak governments. The local people in Cambodia, parts of Africa and Papua New Guinea, are suffering just as the Sarawakians have suffered.

Shame on us Malaysians, for not doing enough to remove Taib and his ilk - be they in Putrajaya or Petra Jaya.

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MARIAM MOKHTAR is a defender of the truth, the admiral-general of the Green Bean Army and president of the Perak Liberation Organisation (PLO).

All quiet outside courthouse as church makes final bid to use ‘Allah’

It is all quiet with no signs of protestors outside the Palace of Justice in Putrajaya as the Federal Court prepares to hear the Catholic Church's review application against a decision denying leave to appeal the ban on the use of the word "Allah" in the Herald weekly.

In the past, thousands of supporters of groups such as ‎Perkasa and Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia (Isma) had turned up at the courthouse to lend support to the government's challenge against the Herald using the word in its Bahasa Malaysia content.

There were also no large groups of Catholic church supporters in past hearings.

Church lawyers will today try to convince the bench that there was injustice and abuse of court process when it was denied leave to appeal against the ban on the word Allah by the Court of Appeal.

In June, ‎four of the seven-member bench dismissed the church's application for appeal, citing that the Court of Appeal was right in its decision to ban the word in the Herald.

Chief Justice Tun Arifin Zakaria, president of Court of Appeal Tan Sri Md Raus Sharif, Chief Judge of Malaya Tan Sri Zulkefli Ahmad Makinuddin and Federal Court judge Tan Sri Suriyadi Halim Omar were in the majority.

Three other judges – Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak Tan Sri Richard Malanjum, and Federal Court judges Datuk Zainun Ali and Tan Sri Jeffrey Tan Kok Hwa – held that leave must be granted to the church.

Lawyer Annou Xavier (pic, right), who is part of the church's legal team said today that ‎the three dissenting judges had looked into the core issues of the appeal and questions of leave to appeal to the Federal Court.

He said the issues fell squarely within the threshold of Section 96 of the Courts of Judicature Act which sets out the conditions of appeal.

‎"We lost by the skin of our teeth, it was a 4-3 majority, not a 6-1 or 5-2," Annou told The Malaysian Insider.

He noted that one of the core issues was the lack of a clear decision on Article 11 of the Federal Constitution on the freedom of religion, and as such expressed hope that the new bench this round would act without fear of third parties.

"This is a fitting case for judges to exercise its power to review the leave that was not offered because it hinges on constitutional issues that goes to the root of the nation," he said.

‎The five-man bench today comprises Tan Sri Abdull Hamid Embong, Tan Sri Ahmad Maarop, Tan Sri Hasan Lah, Datuk Ramly Ali and Datuk Azahar Mohamed, all of whom are Federal Court judges.

It was earlier believed that the Chief Justice would co-opt one or two judges from the Court of Appeal to sit on the bench to hear the review today. – January 21, 2015.

- See more at: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/all-quiet-outside-courthouse-as-church-makes-final-bid-to-use-allah#sthash.Eb6DAKQA.dpuf